1. Cut your fabric. I used an old pair of jeans for the denim and duck cloth for the front. Between the two heavy fabrics, it makes for a sturdy car caddy.

2. Take your 17 x 6 inch piece of denim, fold it in half, and press. This will be used for the car pockets. Line up the raw edges of the denim with the bottom on the duck cloth and pin in place. Sew along the bottom edge to secure.

3. Sew vertical lines through all the fabric (3 layers, since the denim is folded in half), spacing the lines 2.75 inches apart. Be sure to back stitch at the top and bottom. If your child is especially rough on pockets, you may consider going over each line a second time.

4. Sew your road piece centered in the top half of the duck cloth. Pin the road dashes in place and sew around each dash using a coordinating thread. Set the duck cloth aside.

5. Add a car applique to the denim backing. Center the car in the bottom half of the denim (see photo below). When the caddy is folded together, the top half of the denim will be inside.

I used scrap cotton fabric for the car body and felt for the wheels. You can use a fusible web like Wonder Under to hold your applique in place. I was all out, so I just pinned and sewed.

6. Add decorative piping to the top and bottom of the denim backing. Actually, add the piping all the way around as well ... I only had enough on hand for the top and bottom. ;)

Line up the raw edge of the piping with the raw edge of the denim. Pin in place and sew in place

along the existing stitch line on the piping.

7. Pin the 6 inch piece of belting to the denim fabric, again lining it up centered on the edge of the bottom half of the denim piece (see photo above). Leave about 1/4 to 1/2 inch overhang, so it will be enclosed between the denim and duck cloth layers when they are sewn together. Stitch the belting in place using about a 1/4 inch seam (go over it a few times for extra strength)

I forgot to take a few pictures at this point ... bear with me.

8. I added my velcro pieces last, but now would actually be a better time to do it. Sew one side of the velcro to the end of your belting strap, and the other piece in the center of your car applique.

9. Lay the denim piece and the duck cloth piece on top of each other, right sides facing together, and pin. Sew around the edges using a 1/4 inch seam (try to follow the seam of the piping along the top and bottom). Leave about a 3 inch gap for turning the caddy right side out.

10. Turn the caddy right side out and pin the opening closed. Sew around the entire outside edge again, closing the opening. Go slowly around the bottom corners - all that denim gets thick.

11. Fold the caddy in half horizontally and make a crease. Sew a seam, following the crease, down the middle of the caddy (between the pockets and the road - see the final product photo for seam placement). This will make the caddy easier to fold up.

12. Using the templates found at the end of this post, cut the numbers out of freezer paper. If you've never done freezer paper stenciling, you can find easy instructions at Angry Chicken (and everywhere else online - do a google search and I promise you'll find tons of help).

Here's how it folds: Fold the caddy in half so the road meets the pockets. Then fold in thirds. Wrap the strap around the front and velcro closed.

Enjoy!

p.s. This project is similar to Sharla's Car Cozie at My Little Gems, who I have just recently gotten acquainted with. If you plan to make this project, you should check out her tutorial as well, since they are different and you might like her construction better.

I love all your crafts. I have been waiting for this tutorial since I first saw this on the SYTYC. Yesterday was my grandson's birthday party. At 4:00AM I couldn't stop thinking about how cute the little skateboards I bought would look in this, so I made it with just the pictures. Now I know the next one I make will be better. Thanks

Thanks for sharing all of your wonderful ideas. You are great Jill! I also wanted to mentioned how excited I was to see you featured on OhDeeDoh recently (one of my favorite sites). I really appreciated you mentioning my blog as one of your favs; you totally made my day!!! Take care and have a wonderful holiday :)

Thanks for the link Jill. I really liked how you used jeans for the car pockets. Owen has used his car caddy I made for him a ton and it's already starting to show wear on the pockets. If I did it again I think I would use decorative fabric for the background and jean fabric for the pockets. Just a note if anyone wants to whip up one of these. (it's simple!)-Sarah from Create Studiowww.createstudio.blogspot.com

I made this last night. Only problem was that I broke about 5 needles, trying to get through the 2 corners on the side with the pockets. My machine just bent and snapped every needle. Good thing I had tons of extras!

Thank you, thank you for putting up this tutorial! I have been planning on making this for one of my nephews for Christmas ever since the "green" week. I'm not the best sewer so you just made my life so much easier! I'm loving your stuff on S.Y.T.Y.C. Thanks again for sharing the goodness!

Thanks for posting this tutorial! I want to make one so bad but since I am currently without a sewing machine, I suggested my sister in law make it for my son for Christmas. I am hoping she does! If not, I asked for a sewing machine for christmas.. So cute!

I love that you used "solid" colours so as not to distract from the road and cars with fun fabric! We leave for holidays on Monday, do you think I can whip one up?! I'll try and post it if I make it! Great tutorial - you are a very generous blogger!Cheers,Georgi

This is such a great tutorial Jill! I made one for my nephew for Christmas and it turned out absolutely adorable. He calls it his "package" and carts it around everywhere. :) Can't wait to make one for my son next.

jill... I just found your blog and all I can say is "Thanks a lot!" I'm a decor-junky with a craft monster that lives inside my head. I keep him at bay with my decorating hobby-turned-addiction and can usually just appreciate others crafty-ness and projects. but now after seeing your felt house I HAVE to make not 1 but 2 for my daughters! AND of course I HAVE to make this car tote for my son. Where I'm going to find the time to do all this is beyond me.... but the craft monster has been unleashed. You have a gift!

Hi Jill!Thank you for this great idea and super tutorial. I made one of these for my friend's one year old son and he loved it right away (He dropped his favorite teddy and said "VROOOOOOM" as he saw it ;-))I posted some pics on my blog: madebynight.blogspot.comI just haven't made up my mind yet on how to name it in French...Thank you also for having such a great and inspiring blog!

Thanks so much for the tutorial! I had a lot of fun making this for my two friends' boys. Blogged it here http://charmandwhimsy.typepad.com/supersue/2010/01/broke-into-my-japanese-fabric-stash-for-a-matchbox-car-cozy.html

Thanks again for all the tutorials, I get so much inspiration from your site :)

This is absolutely fantastic! Hubby and I decided we weren't going to buy our boys (2 1/2 and 1 year olds) anymore toys for a LONG while, as they have too many already. However, putting their little toy cars in one of these caddies would be a new novelty and would be great to throw in the pram on our outing. Thank you for sharing this tutorial

I have made 3 of these so far and they have been a hit! Will definitely be making a few more soon. Great idea and your tutorial was so easy to follow. I posted a link to you on my blog.http://mommaskindacrafty.blogspot.com/2010/02/jean-twirly-skirt.html

Thanks for the great tutorial Jill. I made one for my little guy ... with a few minor changes. Thought I'd say thanks and let you know that I linked back to your site too.http://themendisabals.blogspot.com/2010/02/luccas-car-caddy.html

Thanks for such a great idea for my gift cupboard! I love making them. your tutorial is very easy to follow. I've made one to give away for my 500th post. and have linked it back to you.thanks so much for your inspirationshttp://latenightstamper.blogspot.com/2010/02/500th-post-give-away.html

Jill I just love your work! I had to copy this great project. A link to my version is here: http://icopiedthat.blogspot.com/2010/03/toddler-gift-car-cozy.html Thanks, as always, for the great projects!-jess

Hello, I have a blog that aims to identify all the tutorials that can be found on blogs. I put a link to your blog (and not the explanation) but I let you put your pictures? thank you and congratulations for your blog marjorie http://tutoriels-loisirs-creatifs.over-blog.com

Hello, I found several 'babies' of your tuto on the Net and just finished a garage for my 8 year old son. Have a look on the pictures on my blob http://muriste.blogspot.com/2010/04/idee-fixe-decidement.htmlWe love it! Thanks for your beautiful tutorials. Mu

Oh my goodness, that is just tooo cute!! I've got 3 boys ranging from 1-10 and they would all love this!! Plus a close friend has a 1 yr old whose birthday is coming up soon, my niece is pregnant with boy #2 and this would make a great present for her 2 yr who's about to be 3, and our neighbor is pregnant with her #2, also another boy, so this would be a great big brother gift! Thank you, thank you, thank you!! Too adorable, thanks for the tutorial!!

So good!!Thanks for this tutorial!I translated it in french....and if you allow me, I would put it in my blog,( http://tcilou.over-blog.com/ ) with your photos first, later may be with mine (when I attempt this project) but always linking to your blog....

I hope my translation is faithful, because my english is not really good!

OH MY WORD! I LOVE THIS !!!! LOVE LOVE LOVE THIS!!I just came across this post through a google search for something else, but boy am I glad I clicked here. I have been thinking of doing something similar for my little guys trains. But now we may have to do one for cars too. Again.... I love this! It is just soooo cute.

Thanks for the inspiration! I just made one of these for my little guy for our upcoming road trip. I LOVE the way it turned out!http://plumdumplingdesigns.blogspot.com/2010/07/some-un-digi-designs.html

Hi Jill!! I LOVE these, you really saved me on finding a handmade party favor for a boy. I made 4 of these recently and they turned out great! Thanks for the tutorial. You can see photos on my blog and I linked back to this page! http://suchislifephoto.com/blog/?p=292

Loved this idea! I have made these for Christmas gifts this year and featured it for my Linky Party! http://spartasavings.blogspot.com/2010/11/saving-christmas-week-3-link-party.htmlThanks for such great directions!

I absolutely loved making this for my 2.5 year old son. I had a few issues with the piping and messy stitches, but they were due to my sewing inexperience. Overall I am happy with how it turned out. Thanks so much for posting this, Jill! I included pictures on my blog and linked back to you at http://tysonandmiles.blogspot.com/2010/11/more-stocking-stuffers.html.

I just made this while my 2 year old napped. I can't believe that I made it! I haven't sewed since highschool and asked for a machine for Christmas. Well, your car caddy was my first project! Thank you so much for sharing your tutorial.

I have been wanting to make this for a long time now so I finally got started on it today. Funny thing is that I just noticed your templates!!!!! Of course I already cut out my cars and wheels lol. So my tires are no where near as round as everyone else's will be but hey. Thanks for this tut, I think it is the most aesthetically pleasing one on the web.

I finally came back with pictures of my car rolls. Thank you again for the wonderful tutorial! Here is a link to the post on my blog with the pics. http://haceviento.blogspot.com/2010/12/car-rolls-and-rosettesas-i-promised.html

great blogI made 2 one for each of my boys, they are the perfect thing for taking out to dinner or to docs appointments! i added some buildings that lift up and the underneath building has a fire on it as my big boy loves fire fighting story play. Thank you for sharing I am so greatful for the generosity of bloggers. you can see the ones i made @ sassyssanity.blogpost.com (ive linked it back to you i hope thats ok) im new to bloging

So a while ago I followed a link on Pinterest to the owl mobile you posted about and made it for my nephew. Then, I stumbled across the car carrier that you have in this post and I made it for my other nephew (the first ones big brother). While I was working on it I suddenly thought - hey this logo seems familiar. I checked the bookmark for the mobile and sure enough, it was you. So, short story long, I am SO following your blog!

Thank you so much! I just made one of these for my son to keep him busy on our upcoming flight. He'll love it. I didn't have any heavy materials on hand so I just backed my fabric with interfacing and it turned out great. Thanks again!

Thank you very much !I made one for my daughter's son for Xmas. I hope he will like it !Even if I do not read very well english, the photos and explanations are clear. Thanks a lot and merry Xmas !http://www.canalblog.com/cf/fe/tb/?bid=881754&pid=23002274

Thank you so very much for sharing your tutorial! I just made this for my 22 month old grandson and he LOVES it! He opened it last night and his mama just told me that he asked for it this morning first thing. bless you for sharing!

Thank you so much ! this tuto is so much fun to do and my nephew will adore it ! i'm sure :)I will offer it this week end then i will post a picture on my blog ... (sunday probably) ...Thanks again ! Have a great day !

An additional concern for RBR was that the last garage was so close to the white line marking the pit exit that its drivers were not able to accelerate up to the speed limit before crossing it, which created a small disadvantage at each stop.garagesignssales

This is great! I've been doing research for my own Matchbox car project. I linked you up on my inspiration post here http://onceuponasewingmachine.com/diy-matchbox-car-roundup/ Thanks for the great ideas!

When I was little I use to love playing with toy cars. I had this mate which had a road on it and I would drive the toy cars endlessly for hours on the carpet road. Man do we have imaginations as child.

I mean, you just have so much guts to go ahead and tell it like it is. You are what blogging needs, an open minded superhero who is not afraid to tell it like it is. This is definitely something people need to be up on.

Thanks for this great tutorial! Have made couple of this for my friends' kids, they all love it. My boy is next in line now:) I linked this tutorial to my blog, hope you don't mind. Thanks again!http://annelymakes.wordpress.com/2013/02/18/toy-car-case-for-little-travellers/